January 19, 2017

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #TheNewFanFavorites #CollectiveBias

"Waste not, want not" is a great mantra for the new year, especially since a certain big football game is coming up.

In my experience, nothing is wasted during something as uproarious as a football-watching party!
What's your favorite thing about watching THE football game of the year? The athleticism? The commercials? The fellowship? The food? It's an easy answer for me--I come for the grub.

With all of the saltiness of game day foods like wings and nachos and hot dogs, I believe a little something sweet on game day is just the ticket! I always seem to have bits and pieces of snacks like popcorn and potato chips left in the pantry (their bags rolled down until only about an inch remains and chip-clipped so that you can't really even tell what product is inside), and that's why I like to make clean-up cookies. You can throw in just about whatever you have lingering on your shelves, whether it's salty potato chips and pretzels, nutritious nuts, or sweet, sugary baking morsels.

Clean-up cookies also happen to be perfect to serve when you're having people over to watch a football game, or an even better thing to bring to someone else's party--the hosts will undoubtedly be very grateful! Whether folks like something salty with their sweets or something sweet with their savory, these cookies will please everyone...and you won't have to worry about anyone leaving a single crumb behind!

Find more great ideas (football-related or not) for your Pop Secret® Popcorn, Snyder’s of Hanover® Pretzels, Cape Cod® Potato Chips, and Emerald® Nuts here, and head to just about any grocery store to pick up any and all of these salty (and potentially sweet) products! After all, good food makes any football game infinitely more watchable!

Directions:
Beat together the butter and shortening, then cream in the sugars.
Beat in the eggs and vanilla until light and fluffy; this will take a few minutes.
Carefully beat in the flour, soda, and salt until uniformly mixed, then fold in the pretzels, chips, nuts, and morsels with a spatula until evenly distributed.
Chill dough for at least 4 hours or overnight.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Drop or scoop dough in 1-ounce portions (about 2 tablespoons) onto prepared pan, leaving a couple of inches between each ball.
Bake 10-12 minutes, depending on your oven, or until just brown around the bottom edges.
Cool for a moment on pan, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.